Stuck In The Middle
by auroraziazan
Summary: After a raid on a well-known pureblood family, Severus Snape is left to deal with one of his students. Sequel to enoimreH's A Night To Remember
1. Omnia iam fient fieri quae posse negabam

Stuck In The Middle With You

  
  


Omnia iam fient fieri quae posse negabam

  
  


Severus froze when they arrived at the site. He should have known. They'd been hitting the houses of the first generation fighters for months now. Thinking more, he was surprised this hadn't been higher on the list. Especially given Lucius's relations with them. 

He thanked his lucky stars only five of them were at home. He was the only one who knew Virginia was there. The rest of them had missed her in their search of the house. He was the last one to leave, as had become custom. She came out of her hiding place too early. He was in the living room, doing what he could to help the boys, when she poked her head out of the cupboard under the stairs. She fainted away at the sight of him, but all three of the sets of values in him refused to let him leave her there. And her appearance stirred the plaguing memories within him. Of his first raid, years ago.

It was a small house, the middle of winter. He had helped cast up the Dark Mark, and it wasn't until he got inside that he realized they were only children. He saw the footsteps of one out the back while searching the house, but they led into the woods and he decided against informing his superior. And so there were only the three children. He had fed sleeping potion to the youngest two, as a precaution, when he heard their brother's screams from below. And somehow, when Rosier was leaving, he couldn't just kill the third child as were commands. Somehow, deep in his subconscious, something of his primary training remained. "Never hit a girl." Mentally cursing whoever had ingrained ideals into him, he took the child as he apparated away through the set of pre-approved sites, making it impossible to trace, before he stopped half a block from his flat and walked the rest of the way back home with her.

There was nothing he could do now. It would impossible to do with her what he had done with her sister, years before. It had been an insane thing to do then, the most illogical thing he had ever done, but now it would simply be impossible. She was ten years older, she hated him, she already went to Hogwarts, she was his student, the reasons kept running through his mind, getting more and more desperate. It would be impossible to do this. And yet, there was nothing else he could do. He couldn't leave her here, because it was his job to check, and he would get punished if they discovered he had missed one, and she would most likely be killed. He couldn't take her anywhere, because that would admit he had been part of the raid. He couldn't do anything to her because she was just a child. And she was his student, and she had already had more than her share of trauma.

It had been close enough to impossible the first time. Surely this couldn't be much harder.


	2. Bella detesta convictio

Bella detesta convictio

  
  


Lupin put down his copy of the Daily Prophet, clearly shaken. He hadn't even opened it enough to find the headline, just that picture. The Dark Mark, floating above a very familiar house. He picked it back up, looking closer, trying to identify it. The last thing he saw was the sign by the front.

May the gods help us, he thought. They've got the Weasleys again. With a masochistic curiosity, he unfolded the paper and read the article. Molly, dead. Arthur, tortured to the point of insanity. William, Charles, Percy, Ron, accounted for. Fredrick, physically tortured, should recover. George, trapped in a coma, may recover. Virginia, missing, presumed dead.

It just kept getting worse. Remus had known Molly for years. She had lived next door to him for two years before he started school. His mother hadn't known they were wizards when she moved in, or she undoubtably would have gone somewhere else, price be hanged. Molly had been the one who told him about Hogwarts. When he had been old enough to remember anything his mother told him, the incident had already happened, and she didn't want to give him any false hopes. Molly didn't know, of course, and loved to go on to Remus about her classes, and the castle, and how great it was. She had taken them a plate of cookies when they first moved in, and somehow they connected. She was the youngest in a large family, and the lonely girl took him in as a younger brother. He had taken the family in, after the first time, and helped them find the Burrow. She had known about him by then, but it was a week after the full moon, and he was sure to get them settled with time to spare.

She had introduced him to Arthur at dinner the first night. He was a very nice boy, top of the Muggle Studies class, and happy to help Remus with anything he wanted to talk about. They hadn't known each other as well, of course, since Arthur was already a seventh year when he started, but they had gotten on rather well. And besides, the two of them had always been so kind to Harry. They had really taken him in, more so than his relatives ever had.

Fred and George. He remembered having them in one of his first classes. He had taken a quick liking to them. Their twin mischievous grins were too familiar to resist. And for all the other teachers said of them, they were smart boys. And their pranks were good-natured, if occasionally embarrassing. If they had been malicious in their teasing, they would have been punished much more. He had gotten one of their trick wands his first day, and they continued to 'leave' him things about once a week. He didn't mind, not really. It reminded him of James and Sirius, and it kept him on his toes, figuring out how to reverse the charms and transfigurations. 

But his eyes kept returning to 'Virginia, missing, presumed dead.' He remembered her first lesson as well. She was a little pixie of a girl, with pale skin and short cropped red hair. She didn't have the eyes, though. On close examination, the rings under her eyes were evident. And though she tried to hide it, he often saw a dead look in her eyes, or a trapped one. He had enough experience with picking up the little things to catch some clue of her problem. He had asked her about it once. They were discussing dementors, and the topic of the Death Eaters came up, as he had expected it to. She started looking apprehensive, and by the end of the lesson she was biting her lip, almost bouncing out of her chair, and close to tears. He had asked her to stay after to talk to him about something.

"What is it, Professor?" she had asked.

"What's wrong, Virginia?"

"What? Nothing's wrong. I'm fine."

"You were going crazy today. Did something happen?"

"I'm fine, Professor." She grew cold. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Was it about the Death Eaters? It's okay to talk to me about these things, I know a lot about them. That's what I'm here for."

Apparently it was the wrong thing to ask. She turned back to her desk, gathered up her things, and left the room without looking at him. He had asked Albus about it, later, and felt guilty once he found out. Poor child. Poor Virginia. Virginia, missing, 'presumed dead'. Finally, he gave up and wrote to Albus, offering his services to the family, and to the search efforts.

  
  
  
  


Disclaimer: I do not own Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, The Daily Prophet, Arthur, Molly, William, Charles, Percy, Fredrick, George, Ronald, or Virginia Weasley. I didn't make any money out of their use.

  
  


A/N: Thank you all those who have read this far. This story is a sequel to enoimreH's A Night To Remember, which she will probably let me steal soon so they can be located together (for obvious reasons). And big thanks goes out to Jobey for accidentally dropping the plotbunny into my arms. And if you ask, I will tell you what the chapter titles mean.

  
  


To my reviewer:

  
  


Green Eyed Lady-I meant that in comparison to this it wasn't depressing and sadistic. This was originally the first part, but I realized, while more of a shocker, this is just too much to open a story with. This is obviously worse than that one, and let me tell you, it didn't feel good to write those parts. The sister is explained more in future chapters, and in the companion piece that will soon be born from the other plotbunny that 'someone' *elbows and glares* dropped on me. I'm glad this writing worked. Part of it may be that I wrote the first 4 chapters or so of this without real pause the first night I got the idea. Anyway, thanks for reading.


	3. Semper Fidelis

Semper Fidelis

  
  


Severus stood outside the walls of his manor house. He used his elbow to toggle the latch, and his foot to open the gate, since his arms were full. The gate locked itself behind him, and when he reached the front door it opened himself for him. He made his way to the spare bedroom and unloaded his arms onto the bed. He left, letting the door lock behind him, and made his way to his suite. He sat down at his desk and had grabbed a quill and parchment when the reality of what he had done hit him.

Not pausing to contemplate, he quickly went through in his head the people that he knew considering who he could get to help him with the necessary arrangements. None of the Death Eaters, of course. Not Albus, not if he was going to hide the girl. Not Meg, considering who it was. And, after running through everyone else, the only one left was Lupin. He almost growled, so deep was his distaste at having to request Lupin's help.

R.L.

By now you should have some idea of what went on 

last night. As you probably suspected, I have a much clearer 

idea. Nothing important to the cause was confiscated. 

However, I did pick up a little something I think you will find 

quite interesting that I would like you to help me work out 

before I bring it up to A.D. Please come as soon as you can, 

as this item will not store well.

S.S.

He folded the letter into an envelope, sealed it, and put on a charm ensuring it could only be opened by the one to whom it was addressed, then called in his owl to carry it. He had given her a sleeping potion, enough to keep her down for five hours. And he needed something to clear his head. He stormed down to his lab, selected a burn salve that took exactly four hours and twenty minutes to make, and soon lost himself deep into the entrancing sensations of the potion.

  
  
  
  


Disclaimer-I continue not owning all characters and settings.

  
  


A/N: I know this is really short, but the next one is about 4 times as long and they just didn't work as a single chapter anyway. I'd like to give a big thank you to my minuscule fan base for your faithful following. More will be coming really soon.

  
  


Thanks to-

  
  


animegirl-mika-Thank you very much for your support. I'm not sure about Ginny, but we will see more of the character relationships soon. I hope this will be able to be long, though I'm not sure right now. Currently it mostly keeps branching off and giving birth to new plotbunnies. If you're interested, I am going to put up a third branch in this series. (However, only two people are reading this one, so I may have to work on things with a slightly larger interest first) And thanks a lot for reading them.

  
  


Green Eyed Lady-I know about the names, but them just made the most sense in the situations. Snape definitely wouldn't have been on familiar terms with them, and the Daily Prophet would have to be formal about it. Plus, I'm not sure if the teachers call Ginny that, her full name, or just Mrs. Weasley. I have no idea what you are implying about plot devices *looks slightly offended and rather shifty-eyed*. There are more chapters coming, but I don't want to get ahead of my readers (all 2 of them). Thanks a bunch for your encouragement.


	4. Postatem obscuri lateris nescitis

Postatem obscuri lateris nescitis

  
  


Remus was sitting in his den, reading nervously, awaiting reply from Albus when a large owl flew in the open window. He removed the envelope tied to its leg, and it immediately sped back out the window. "Don't want a reply, then," he said, breaking through the familiar seal and unfolding the parchment.

He recognized Severus's thin, slanting scrawl, though it had been years since it had been directed at him. "By Merlin, of course! Sev would know what happened to the girl. I suppose I'll go, just to see if he can tell me anything about her. I'm not exactly in the mood for dealing with his bloody combustible potions ingredients."

He changed into a set of work robes and did the traditional triple apparition before arriving outside the gates of Snape Manor, to prevent tracing. He undid the latch and walked in, letting the gate lock itself behind him. At the front door, he let himself in, making his way down to Snape's labs unescorted. Severus was siphoning a thick purple potion from a size 5 cauldron into a row of bottles arranged on the desk below. "What did you call me for, Sev? I'm not sure I'm going to be able to help you much with it right now, as I've promised myself to Albus to help with recent disappearances." He pronounced the word slowly, so that Severus would be sure to understand what he meant.

Severus froze the liquid inside its tube and with a quick shake of his head indicating he intended Remus to follow, left the dungeon and walked briskly through a labyrinth of corridors and staircases. They stopped outside a large wooden door. "What is it, Severus?" Remus asked, the patience in his voice leaving. "I really don't have time for this."

"Just go in, Remus. It's just about time."

Remus opened the door, unprepared for what he found inside. There, on the guest bed he recognized, lay Virginia Weasley. She was asleep, but just beginning to stir. He went and sat on the side of her bed, by the head. Slowly, her eyes opened and focused on him. "Professor Lupin? What are you doing here? What happened?" she asked, her voice still fuzzy with sleep.

"Hush, Ginny. I'm here to help take care of you. Something happened at your house. That's all I'm allowed to tell you right now. Why don't you just sit up here," he paused to help her arrange the pillows so she could prop herself against the headboard, "and let me go get you something to eat. Are you hungry?" She nodded softly in reply.

"What would you like?"

"Just a bit of toast, thank you."

"All right. You wait here, and I'll get you some." He squeezed her hand gently, and went back into the hall, shutting the door quietly. He turned to Severus. "Is Kalea still here?" In response, a small house elf appeared in front of him.

"What does Mr. Remus need?" she squeaked.

"There is a girl in the guest room. Could you bring her two pieces of toast, and some juice?"

"Yes, sir. Kalea will do that, sir." She popped out of sight again and he turned back to Severus. "What in the name of Merlin is she doing in there? This is what you brought me here for, isn't it?"

"I had no choice, Remus. They would have killed-they would have killed both of us if they discovered she had gone free. And I presume you would rather me do this than what I was expected to do to her."

"No choice? No choice but to take her away from her home, her life? What did you think you were going to do with her, Sev? Just disguise her, make her a new life?"

"It's been done before."

"No, really. What did you intend to do with the girl once you had her here?"

"Just keep her safe, out of the way for a few years. She's not safe out there. None of them are. Just because the older ones weren't home....There are a lot of people who would love to get back at the Wealeys. People with long memories, Remus. The boys are all in danger. I couldn't just leave her, if you will excuse the metaphor, to the wolves."

"Just keep her safe. Sure. Like any of us are safe now. Like she's safer away from her family, and Albus. Like she's safe in the society of, well, you know," and Remus looked pointedly at Severus's left arm.

"How dare you! You, of all people. Of course she's not safe with her family, did you not understand me before? The remaining Weasleys have a mob of angry Death Eaters at their heels, just waiting for the opportunity to get rid of the lot of them. No one will ever suspect she's here."

"Including her grieving family, I am to understand?"

"What do they know?"

"'Virginia Weasley, missing, presumed dead.' Give me one good reason I shouldn't just take her straight to Dumbledore now."

"No! You can't. They'll kill her. They'll kill me. Albus would never understand this. You do not want the Death Eaters to know she's still alive. Let them think I just took her off and killed her somewhere, it's better than what will happen to her if they discover she's here."

"What do you mean?"

"Remus, are you being deliberately dense? How would you expect a pack of Death Eaters to get their revenge on the whole Weasley clan, when they have their fifteen year-old daughter captive?"

Remus shuddered. "You people sicken me."

"Now, for the sake of all involved, especially her, no one else can find out that Miss Weasley is here."

"And how do you expect to pull that off? Will you keep her locked away until the war is over? Let her education go to naught? What if, as is likely, something happens to you? Then what, Sev? Did you think this out at all?"

"Do you want to take her? Because you seem to think you are much more capable of taking care of her."

"Oh, and you know how to raise a child? A teenage daughter?"

Severus shrugged with a secretive air. "I know a lot of things that would surprise you, Remus."

"That's not likely. What do you mean by that? You don't seem exactly the fatherly type."

"I mean I've done this before."

"If you've done this before, why do you have no idea what you are doing?"

"It was easier the first time. It was a smaller child. It was my first raid, and I couldn't bring myself to do anything to her, not even just stun her. But I was scared, so I couldn't leave her there. I picked her up and brought her home with me. I told the rest of them that I had disposed of her."

"These aren't stray puppies, Severus, to be picked up and adopted at your leisure!"

"Leisure? I saved her life! There is no leisure involved when a nineteen year old boy brings home a five year old girl."

"What did you do with her?"

"A few spells, a few potions, to change her appearance. I convinced her she was my child, and raised her as such."

"What about school? You couldn't have sent her to Hogwarts as your child, surely, given that you were only fourteen years older."

"I sent her to the international school in Seville."

"You sent 'your child' to Spain?"

"And what of it? It's a good school, and the next best to Hogwarts."

"Where is she now?"

"She lives there. The schools farther west are much bigger on communal living. And their schools are arranged differently than ours. She teaches a few courses on properties for potion brewing, and mentors one of the younger students."

"That still doesn't explain what you're going to do with Virginia."

"I think it would be safest for all involved if I sent her to live with her sister."

"Her sister?"

"The girl."

Remus barely restrained himself from punching Severus. "I can't believe you. How could you do that to the poor family? And all these years? How could you possibly bring yourself to go back after that? How dare you presume to teach their children after doing that to them. Can you even comprehend what you did to them? It took Charles three years to be able to talk to someone outside of his family! How can you live with yourself after destroying people like this?"

"The things I live with, Remus, are keeping the rest of you alive so I suggest you hold your tongue. I mean to send Miss Weasley to live with Meg in Seville." 

"And how do you plan to convince her of this?"

"I think I'm going to let you do that, Remus," he said, opening the door and pushing Remus back inside.

  
  
  
  


Disclaimer: I don't own anything previously disclaimed, or the Seville Academy. That was originally created by gaelicchick, one of my favorite authors.

  
  


A/N: Continued thanks goes to my 2 reviewers, who not only are reading this, but are checking it often enough to have their reviews already here by the time I am able to access the chapter, without being really notified. *Hugs reviewers* This is where we see (sort of) the rest of the connections to A Night To Remember. If there is anything you aren't sure about or need to tease me about, go right ahead. Or anything you want to recommend, or whatever.

  
  


Green Eyed Lady-Yeah, yeah, so I can't type. I meant Ms., really. Sevie had to write like that, though I wasn't sure if I had pulled of the character properly.. I'm glad you liked it though, and I thank you for the RL thought (which you probably recognized). And I didn't really mean Sev thinking of Ginny like that, he just couldn't tell in the letter in case it was intercepted. Here is most of the rest of the information on Meg, though at your *growls* suggestion, I have already gotten 2 ½ pages into the third fic of this branch. As always, thanks incredibly much for reading, writing, and giving birth to (and adopting) plot bunnies.

  
  


animegirl-mika-Thank you incredibly much for keeping up with this. I'm glad you liked that chapter, I know it was a shortie, but it sort of had to be there as a transition into this chapter. Thank you for your opinions, and your time and interest.


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